Users start by selecting a generic template that has the general design elements they need, and then use the various interface modes to modify it to meet their custom requirements. In addition to logos, the program supports the creation of graphics for virtually any need, for either printed or on-screen use.

The LogoCreator workflow consists of these steps:
• Select a template that embodies the general look that is required. Several accessory logo sets are available to suit specific needs such as real estate, sports, travel and leisure, etc.
• The various elements in a template can be modified in a wide variety of ways, such as resizing and moving the individual elements, changing the logo text and font (there are over 50 fonts provided), colorizing elements and text, adding gradients, adding shadows, and more.
• Additional objects can be added from the object library, or existing objects can be swapped out. Users can add their own images, clipart, or photos by importing them using the File menu and selecting Import.
• A slogan or tagline can be added by using the built-in Slogan and Tagline generator which includes over 500 predefined slogans.
• Finished logos are exported as JPEG, PNG, transparent GIF, PDF, or as 300 dpi TIFF or BMP for print.

The results are impressive, and users can quickly and easily create several variations of each basic design. Each logo version is $39.95, or $189.95 for the MEGA Pak which includes all of the logo sets: Corporate, Entertainment, Business Mascot, Real Estate, Spiritual, Sports, and Travel and Leisure.

The program is not only useful for creating new font designs...it empowers end-users to add special characters to existing fonts, such as symbols, fractions, company logos, and more. Users can modify existing characters, adding accents, modifying character weight, and even blending two fonts into an entirely new third font.

The program includes a complete arsenal of tools that can be used to create a font from scratch, or make precise edits to existing characters. Characters can be viewed either with the control points and Bezier controls, or in preview, showing how they will print. The user can control kerning, all aspects of characterfit, and hinting, long an essential element of good typography.

When traveling it is essential to have access to e-mail, and equally important to have copies of all messages that have been sent and received. With the use of Migo Professional, the user has access to that mail, both while away, and through synchronization upon return, when the user again uses their main PC.

This utility can be invaluable to digital publishers who might encounter files that they can not open in a given application. File Juicer may be able to extract the component parts and save them. Shareware, $8.

Users are able to group files by name, size, checksum, digest, path, extension, and/or timestamp. Users can also search within compressed Zip files.

Once duplicates have been uncovered, the user can elect to delete by selected files, all duplicates of a file, all duplicates except the newest, all duplicates except the oldest, keep files in this folder, delete duplicates elsewhere, delete all files in this folder which have duplicates, and delete all duplicates except the first. As a safeguard, users can also delete files to a backup folder. The results of a session can be saved in HTML and XML file formats. Sessions can even be saved and reloaded. $39.95

One of the most useful additions is the Adobe Bridge for Photoshop Elements, fashioned after the image and file organizer which is now a part of the Adobe Creative Suite 2. The Bridge enables the user to find, manage, sort, and organize all of their images and files using a single interface. In the Bridge users can rank and label images and display them in a filmstrip or slideshow format.

The software is aimed at the consumer market, specifically to provide users with easy-to-apply tools and processes to correct image flaws and improve image quality. These include the:
• Red Eye Fix Auto button, to remove the red eye effect, which is often caused by the camera flash reflecting from the subject's retina.
• Magic Selection Brush which can be used to quickly select target areas of an image, such as a car or building, without the need to use the slow and difficult process of manually outlining the objects.
• Improved Crop tool that automatically conforms to the aspect ratio of the original photo. Users can also use the Reverse Aspect Ratio button to change the crop ratio from landscape to portrait or vice versa.
• Quick Fix Interface consisting of several buttons that apply instant image corrections, such as color, lighting, and sharpening, and some of which include slider controls for precision adjustments.
• Adjust Color for Skin Tone enhancement to create a more realistic skin coloring effect.
• Straighten Tool which simplifies the process of bringing a crooked image back into line.
• Spot Healing and the Healing Brushes that provide immediate removal of flaws simply by clicking on the target area. These brushes make it a quick and easy process to remove dust, scratches, wrinkles, scars, and entire objects.

Many newer digital cameras enable the user to shoot images in Camera Raw format, providing images with significantly more image data. These images are comparable to film negatives, and offer the user significantly more control over the adjustment of the image, leaving the digital "negative" in its original state. Photoshop Elements 4.0 now supports Camera Raw, with a complete interface that provides control of RGB values, color depth, white balance, shadows and highlights, and more. Raw images can be saved in the new universal DNG file format.

Users who gang photos on their flat-bed scanner, and routinely find that the photos have shifted, and are no longer straight, will appreciate the new Divide Scanned Photos feature. This option automatically recognizes multiple scanned images, crops them along their logical edges, straightens them, and then opens each one in a separate window named for the original image and appended with "copy" and a successive number.

Image compositing, something that has been both an art and a craft, has been simplified using the new Magic Extractor, which consists of using the Foreground Brush to identify the foreground, and Background Brush, to identify the background, resulting in the separation of an object from its background. The object can then be composited with another image.

The Cookie Cutter tool enables users to crop images using unusual shapes. The user has control over the shape selection, size, and proportions.

Other interesting capabilities include font preview in the enhanced Font menu; reducing photo noise and JPEG artifacts; applying any of several artistic image filters from the Filter Gallery; and much more.

Edited and processed images can be printed locally on the users' printer, printed in a choice of several space-saving layouts, or sent on-line for professional printing. Images can also be e-mailed directly from the application, or saved in an on-line Web Photo Gallery. All in all, this update provides useful, practical, and productive capabilities at a very reasonable price. Mac, $89.99, Windows, $99.99.

IOGEAR USB Multi-Function Print Server (WIN )
The IOGEAR USB Multi-Function Print Server is a small device that enables users who are connected on a SOHO (small office, home office) or SMB (small, medium sized business) network to share a single multi-function (MF) USB printer with printing, scanning, and faxing capabilities. Users can perform all of the functions that are inherent in the single MF device. Digital publishers can share these functions rather than duplicate them by purchasing several such devices. The print server is the more efficient and cost-effective method of working.

The palm-size device provides two-way communication, informing users of the status, in realtime, of the ink or toner levels, as well as progress reports on faxes that are being sent or received. The print server can be connected to a wireless router, in which case it becomes a Wide Local Area Network (WLAN) device, serving all networked computers wirelessly.

Control, configuration, and monitoring of the multi-function device, through the print server, is managed with a Web browser interface. The Print Server comes with a three year limited warranty. $99.95

Portfolio assets are contained in catalogs, which can be composed of digital images, graphics, and other elements. A subset of a catalog is called a gallery. The process of adding assets to a Portfolio catalog is as simple as selecting the folder or volume that contains them. Instant Cataloging makes it possible to add metadata as the assets are being added to the catalog.

Portfolio utilizes a time-saving feature called AutoSync, which automates the process of keeping client and server file and folder structures synchronized. In this way, the user is assured that all files that have been added, moved, deleted, or renamed are properly reflected within the Portfolio interface.

The architects of Portfolio have given considerable thought to DAM workflow, and recognize that assets are often required while the user is working in another application, such as Adobe InDesign or Microsoft PowerPoint. For this reason, the patented Portfolio Express palette is provided. This floating palette is available from any application, and enables the user to access images quickly, for insertion in any active application. The Portfolio Express palette is available even if the Portfolio client application is not active.

The single user version of Portfolio Client is the basic entree into the Portfolio product suite, which includes Portfolio Server (to support multiple users), Portfolio NetPublish (to publish fully-featured websites), and Portfolio SQL Connect (to use Portfolio catalogs as standard SQL databases). The Client version includes improved cataloging speed, custom sort ordering, flexible gallery access, compatibility with Adobe Bridge rating and label fields, and more.

The process of adding assets to a catalog is very simple. The user defines a new catalog (File>New) and saves it. The Add button on the Portfolio toolbar is pressed, and the user navigates to the location of the targeted assets. Before the assets are processed into the catalog, the user has several options from which to choose regarding how the program will store the information about the files. Among the options are batch renaming files, inserting descriptive text about each file, adding keywords, etc. These options can be retained as presets, for processing similar assets in the future.

Cataloged files are retrieved using the QuickFind box, into which a word or phrase is typed. The Find command provides more advanced forms of searching, supporting up to five lines of search criteria. Users can manage assets for particular clients or projects by displaying them in one or more galleries, which are catalog subsets, created from the Gallery menu (Gallery>New). Searches can also be saved as Smart Galleries, using the results of a search as the contents for the gallery.

Cataloged items can be published to the Web using the Create Webpages feature, producing a static on-line catalog. $199.95

A key feature of the program is Font Sense™, a plug-in technology that transparently manages the exact fonts used in a document, identifying, locating, and activating them to ensure font fidelity. The technology creates unique font identifiers for each font, even those with the same name, guaranteeing that the program will correctly activate the exact version of a particular font. For trade professionals, this capability provides the highest level of confidence that fonts will correctly appear in key applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Ilustrator, and QuarkXPress.

The program utilizes the Font Vault, a repository for fonts that is itself a database, maintaining fonts reliably, and free of version and naming conflicts. The vault provides a single storage area for fonts, unlike many workflows that distribute fonts for various jobs and clients in a variety of folders and a variety of locations. As fonts are loaded into the vault they are separated from their suitcases, allowing the user to activate fonts on a typeface level basis. The user decides if the fonts will be moved into the vault; or copied there, leaving the fonts in their original locations. The database structure enables users to search for fonts on the basis of various criteria, such as keywords, font classification, or foundry. The database contains very detailed information about every font, including such fields as PostScript Name, Version, Outline Size, and Type (PostScript, TrueType, OpenType).

Fonts are added using a drag-and-drop browser, or through a menu selection, after which they appear in the application window, where they can be activated or deactivated, and previewed and printed in a variety of layouts. Fonts can be selected individually, as separate entities from their suitcases, and can be grouped in sets that relate to projects, customers, styles, or any other categorization that is required. Fonts can also be activated temporarily so that they will not be activated upon reboot.

The program comes with a complimentary copy of Morrison Software's Font Doctor 7, which detects and repairs corrupt fonts. $99.95

Users can interact with the fish in several ways. They can activate the Fish Cam, following the paths of favorite fish as they swim, feed, and interact with other fish. They can "feed" the fish, and see how fish react to the food, which slowly settles to the bottom of the tank. And finally, they can "tap" on the glass and observe the movements of the fish nearby. Additional fish collections are available at extra cost. $24.99

The book and CD represents a collaboration with design organizations around the world, and has resulted in a reliable reference collection for design, sign creation, and electronic labeling. The standard symbol sets, which have been designed by internationally recognized designers for such impressive organizations as the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD), and others, includes:

Vol. 1: Highway Signs I: U.S. (MUTCD) Vol. 2: Highway Signs II: International (UNCRT) Vol. 3: Symbol Signs: Recreation (SEGD) Vol. 4: Symbol Signs: Transport I (AIGA/DOT) Vol. 5: Symbol Signs: Transport II (TCRP/DOT) Vol. 6: Hospitality Symbol Signs System (APEC) Vol. 7: Safety Symbols Labeling (DOT/ANSI/ISO) Vol. 8: International Icons I: Electronic Labeling (ISO /IEC/JEITA) Vol. 9: International Icons II: Mechanical Labeling (ISO / IEC) Vol. 10: Signals Braille (ADA) Vol. 11: Meteorological Symbols (WMO)

The book and CD-ROM bring together the largest collection of sign graphics ever; one that every digital publisher should seriously consider as an essential part of their graphics library. All of the image files are not only ready to use for printers, signmakers, and vinyl-cutters, but are fully editable in almost any vector drawing program. Complete background information and technical application instructions are provided. $249.95 for the book and CD-ROM; $49.95 for the book alone; and $199.95 for the CD-ROM alone. ISBN 0-9769513-0-4.

Podcasts can be composed as simple, single audio file issues, or more sophisticated, with chapters and links. Live links enable listeners to access Web-based content. The program provides three modes: Basic, Detail, and Preview, all of which do exactly what one would expect. The Publish button enables the user to quickly publish their podcast, and using the iTunes Music Store, make it available for subscription using RSS...all without coding or complexity. Podcasts can be published to a .Mac account, or if the user has other Web hosting, they can use FTP or SFTP.

Digital publishers are likely to have a collection of VHS tapes and other analog video that they need to convert into digital form, either to archive or to put it to use it in new projects. Not only can the technology that supports old media formats become obsolete, the media itself can degrade and deteriorate. The digital format affords exceptional latitude in editing, and can be burned onto DVD for long-term storage. An analog camcorder or VCR can be connected easily to the Link box using the supplied cables. The process is fast and easy to accomplish.

The PYRO A/V Link box has analog and digital inputs on the front, as well as power and analog indicators. The back of the box has analog and digital outputs. Although the box is usually attached between an analog video device, such as a VCR, and a computer, it can be used to connect two devices directly, bypassing a computer.

After converting and editing video users can burn their work to a DVD or video CD, or convert it back to analog, recording it to a VCR tape.

Package contents includes the PYRO A/V Link device, 6 ft. RCA A/V cable (red, yellow, white), 6 ft. S-Video cable (4 pin Din), 6 ft. 6 pin to 6 pin 1394 cable, 6 ft. 4 pin to 4 pin 1394 cable, power supply, and Adobe Premiere Elements for Windows. $199.99

The PDF Scroll plug-in can be used to scroll a PDF file of any number of pages, and the PDF Slide Show plug-in enables the user to display each PDF page as a slide. The Place Text II plug-in lets the user precisely place titles, with control over the alignment, linespacing, and screen position.

A useful quick guide to the process of planning, producing, distributing, and promoting successful podcasts. The authors cover many of the technical, commercial, and legal considerations of podcast publishing.

Copyright and Distribution Information The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing is (c)opyright 2006, Graphic Dimensions, Rochester, NY, all rights reserved. You may distribute portions of this document, up to 200 words in length, unmodified, provided that you also include this copyright notice and subscription information. The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing is published in Adobe Acrobat PDF format http://www.adobe.com. Each issue costs $4.95, with a 6 issue subscription costing $24.95. The free Acrobat reader is required for viewing. Past issues (more than 60 days old) of The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing are available on the Web at: http://www.printerport.com/kdp/. Comments and inquiries should be directed to: The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing, POB 20213, Rochester, NY 14623, USA. E-mail: kdp@printerport.com.